Confidence In US System Of Government At Record Low

Confidence in the US system of government is at its lowest point since 1974, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll of Americans. Opposition to continued US involvement in Afghanistan is at an all-time high. Distress over the economy, the budget deficit and gas prices is also acute. And voters seem disgusted by the political process. ABC News reports:Only 26 per cent of Americans in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll say they’re optimistic about “our system of government and how well it works,” down 7 points since October to the fewest in surveys dating to 1974. Almost as many, 23 per cent, are pessimistic, the closest these measures ever have come. The rest, a record high, are “uncertain” about the system.

The causes are many. Despite a significant advance, more than half still say the economy has not yet begun to recover. And there’s trouble at the pump: 70-one per cent in this poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, report financial hardship as a result of rising gas prices. 40-four per cent call it a “serious” hardship.